Hamilton, Ohio – Connections count.
Maybe more than anything else, Fitton Center for Creative Arts Board Chair Dave Lippert looks for more connections to - and through - art.
While not an artist himself, Lippert’s great-grandfather was the renowned Cincinnati painter, Leon Lippert. A print of his 1929 painting Fountain Square resides in the Fitton Center’s current 8th Biennial Member Show running through July 1. The original hangs in the Cincinnati Art Museum.
An executive with Hamilton Caster, Dave Lippert is well into his second stint on the Fitton Center board after also serving a previous six-year term. He became board chair in January of this year.
“The longer I’m around this place, the more I understand how art is tied in with everything,” Lippert said before slowing down and repeating, “Ev-er-y-thing.
“The one common theme is, we (on the board) all want the Fitton Center to thrive. What does that look like? I like to think how it gets the community involved in the arts. How it reaches all corners of the community and offers opportunities to engage with all kinds of art.”
Lippert likes the variety the Fitton Center offers.
“The diversity of things that happen here - there’s kid stuff and adult stuff, there are classes, dancing, music, shows, galleries, everything – and beyond here with education and outreach with our community partners, that’s so important,” he said.
“We’re reaching out beyond Hamilton and helping to make Hamilton a destination. People come here and see a show or take a class and they see other things beyond what they were here to see or do originally.” All of which prompts some questions.
“Are we doing a good job connecting to the community,” Lippert asked. “Are we missing parts of the community overlooked by other outlets? And finally, do we have the money to keep it humming? That’s our job as a board, to make sure (executive director) Ian (MacKenzie-Thurley) and the staff have the resources they need.”
Lippert doesn’t mind being behind the scenes in reaching that goal.
“I shouldn’t be the face of the Fitton Center,” Lippert said. “I’ll be in the back enjoying the show, but I’ll leave it to the professionals to actually be the ones out in front of the people.
“In every case, whatever I see here is better than I could have imagined it. The descriptions I’ve seen in the brochures or on the posters don’t do it justice, and the posters and brochures are pretty good. We do a phenomenal job.”
The Fitton Center for Creative Arts is located at 101 S. Monument Avenue on the Riverfront in downtown Hamilton, Ohio.
Building Community Excellence through the Arts and Culture
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